Take Your Boss to #Orange12 – Winner

September 29, 2011 in Uncategorized with 2 Comments

Winner…Winner…Chicken Dinner!

So…a week or so ago we launched THIS competition.

A couple of  quick comments before we announce the winners.

I wish I could give 10 sets of tickets away…you guys (ladies included) are awesome.

I picked this winner because of a few of things…

1.  I love that this pastor spent time in Family Ministry and I don’t want him to forget!

2.  I want to help rejuvenate a church.

3.  I love that the board of the church is concerned for families.

4.  I want to give a husband and wife time away!

That being said…here is the winning letter.

My Wife and I – Crystal Patey, Youth & Children’s Pastor at Trinity Pentecostal Church, Baie Verte – have spent the last number of years in Youth & Children’s Ministry.  Now, we have taken up the challenge of being the Senior Pastors in a small church of about 100 people, in the community of Baie Verte, NL., Canada, pop. approx. 1250.  She serves as the part time youth & children’s pastor, and I serve as the Senior Pastor!

We have been given a mandate by our board to reach this community and engage young families in our church and community, in an assembly that is aging and desperately needs new life, fresh energy and renewed vision.  The Think Orange conference will be a great benefit to us, as a place where we can get new ideas, learn to think creatively, and impact the families of this community that is set to explode with new work opportunities and the possibility of many young families moving back home or moving into town to work in the area’s mining industry.

Pastor Greg Patey
Senior Pastor

Congratulations Greg and Crystal…can’t wait to meet in person.  I’ll be in touch soon.

Take Your Boss to Orange 2012

September 23, 2011 in Uncategorized with 10 Comments

Are you struggling getting your head pastor to buy into your dreams for family ministry?

Last year I gave away two tickets to the Orange Conference.  You can read about that HERE.  I loved it!

And I got to meet a couple of great guys, Steve and Chris who have been working hard at improving their family ministry programs at their church in Kansas.  You can read their letter HERE.

In fact…I loved it so much that we’re doing it again.

What do you say?  You in?

Here’s the official prize.

  • 2 Registrations to the Orange Conference (one must be for your head pastor)
  • a 2 hour consulting lunch during Orange to talk systems and volunteer recruitment with me. (I’m buying)
  • 2 copies of Think Orange for you and your Head Pastor.

Here’s how you get it. Continue Reading…

Ministry Impossible

September 22, 2011 in Management and Leadership with 4 Comments

A co-worker came to me the other day and said… “You’ve got to watch Restaurant Impossible!”

He then said…”You would love it!  They basically take an overwhelmed and under performing restaurant and apply some of your systems…and the make it work again!  And all in 60 minutes!”

So I watched it…and I loved it.  So I watched a few more episodes.

A theme is really starting to emerge.

On the front end…when the restaurant isn’t running well and on the brink of going out of business.

  • There is usually a proud man in charge…with proud man disease.
  • They have a huge menu that is complicated and almost impossible to pull off.
  • They have no idea what their top sellers are or where the are making or losing money.  They don’t measure and they don’t have systems in place for the daily normal stuff that goes down.
  • There is tension and backstabbing going on amongst the leadership and staff.

During the show, Robert takes them through pretty much the same processes.

Continue Reading…

How You REALLY Know How You’re Doing As A Leader

September 13, 2011 in Leading yourself, Management and Leadership, Serving and Leadership with 3 Comments

Have you ever been on a boat cruising a smooth lake. It’s awesome! One of my favorite things to do for sure.

I love sitting and looking out the back of the boat. You can see our trail weaving through the calm water. Waves emanating from each side of the boat…further and further out from their original position. There is no mistaking where we have been as we cruise through the calm water. You can see every turn, and, if you know what you’re looking at, you can also tell how fast or slow the boat was going at different points. You can tell a lot about the trip of the boat simply from it’s wake.

The same is true of us.

We can tell a ton about our journey as a leader by our wake.

Before you read on…stop and think about it.

Who is in your wake?

What would people say about you who are in your wake?

This is a concept that I was introduced to in the book Integrityby Henry Cloud.  In it, Cloud says there are two sides of the wake.

Continue Reading…

Staying On Target – Part 3

August 30, 2011 in Management and Leadership with 0 Comments

If you are just not checking in…be sure to start back with Part 1.  Click HERE.

I think it’s best to close with a few practical examples of how these help.  Here are three common “great ideas” that a youth pastor faces and the logic I would use when deciding if this distracts us or keeps us on target.

We should have a student band!

This is one of my favorites.  I love the idea of the kids getting to lead the music.  BUT…before I say “yes” we need to run it through the filter.

1.  Find great people and give them a healthy culture in which to grow and connect with students. – NO CHECK – This does nothing for helping us systematically find great small group leaders.

2.  Create shared quality experiences built around Biblical truth for the students and the small group leaders. - NO CHECK – Again, this may provide quality experiences for the four or five kids, but that is between the kids and whoever is directing the band.  Have you ever calculated how many hours it takes to direct a good student band?  I personally believe it will eat up 10-20 hours a week.

3.  Give parents access to #1 and #2.  NO CHECK – If #1 and #2 aren’t satisfied…no way this one is.

Verdict:  I won’t pursue a student band until my room is full of great small group leaders and my program is refined to giving students and small group leaders shared quality experiences around biblical truth while giving parents access to both.  Until I’m doing that well and consistently, I won’t commit the time and resources to developing a student band.

We should have a sports program at our church!

Continue Reading…

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